The Portland daily press., 1887-02-25
WOMAN SUFFRAGE.
Some More Letters on the subject.

To the Editor of the Press:
would like through your courtesy to lay
before your readers the following extracts
from Mrs. Herbert of Illinois. writing to the
women of her State, on the need of the bal
lot for women. She prefaces her paper with
letter from President John Adams to his
wife on the death of her mother. After an
enumeration of her talents and virtues, he
asks:
Were they not too much confined to private
social and domestic life? My opinion of the
duties . OF religion and morality comprehends a
very extensive connection with society at large
ana the great interests of the public The beneyo.
renee, charity, capacity and industry which exert
ca IN private life would make family a parish
or a town happy, employed on large scale in the
support OF The great principles Of virtue and
t Mieeuom III political regulations, might save
''ons ana generations from misery and contempt"
In the above statement" writes Mrs.
Herbert lis contained the foundation prin
cciples. of the woman suffrage movement,
FIRST, the recognition of individual rights.
duties and responsibilities and, second
tnat the State Is but an aggregation of indi-
viauais and homes, and that whatever ele-
ments secure peace, purity, justice, love and
harmony in the home will secure the same
conditions in the State
What is the condition of our national
nome today? A motherless government, i'm
X.
merciful element Of womanhood has No
| place. Hence more of the peoples money
expended for liquor than bread, and temper
ance laws enacted but not enforced. These
iasts seriously affect the labor question. We
| are told that one source of trouble is that the
| supply exceeds the demand. Change the
| channel OF the nine hundred millions now
annually expended for liquor into food.
clothes and homes for the starved, ragged
| and homeless families of the drunkards and
new impetus will be given to labor, an i'm
mense opportunity created for industry.
w men the votes OF women are counted
think you there will be an array of hundreds
OF little children at hard labor in any city,
| or whole districts in which only one child IN
| four Is receiving an education?
When counted on education, methods win
| speedily be devised whereby to every child
shall be secured Industrial, moral and intel
lectaai training; also opportunity, develop
when mothers come thus to the aid of the
| fathers, the fearful conditions now existing
will disappear, and the world will recognize
tnat this Is not the woman question, but the
human question"
In the thirty years of this movement
especially in the eighteen since its advocates
have been petitioners for the recognition of
their right TO the ballot, it goes without say
| ing that the elder women of the nation have
arrived at settled opinions on the question.
Some Of the suffragists were born So can
never say when they were not so, while
| others have come to the acceptance OF their
| right through struggle like that If a new
birth.
l would like to see all the younger women
OF our country place themselves in an affirm
alive attitude towards the reforms of the
day; thereby. learning why so many good
women feel the need Of the ballot. There is
| no surer way by which to prepare themselves
| Tor the dufipc f,.vh ofo~
| them. M. T. w. MERRIII,.
To the Editor of the Press:
| feel nothing less than grief as / look
over the names of so many of Portland's
wellknown ladies on the lists of remon-
strants against the proposed bill granting
suffrage to women.
1t seems as if we were going back to medi-
aval times.
have never been an active advocate of
sach measure, and when some thirteen or
fourteen years ago it was agitated by the
pioneers of the movement, felt becoming
apathy as to its issue, although considered
1t thing that would surely be, like the
bright dawn and the yernal spring. And
even in those days l would hardly have
been willing to sign away my birthright''
for not even the fimsy excuse of "mess of
pottagc.'
wonder if none of the 1859 ladies whose
names appear this morning can conceive of
mo na aedSes 70 remedy no to right in
elysian condition the wheels Of society are
running so smoothly.
| can hardly imagine O woman who has
seen the misery and degradation of her sex
In remote parts of the world, willing to
stop the wheels of progress by refusing to
help leaven this northeast corner of our
glorious free country.
In view of the phase of mind among our
ladies' brought out by the present agitation,
know what they need, refusing all curative
medicines when offered by wiser heads and
stronger hands. feel sense of humble
gratitude that so many men in our enlight-
ened and progressive State are anxious to
consider giving the opportunity to our ladies
OF having voice in the formation of our So
clal and moral as we'll as political institu-
tions A PoRTI Ann IAny
To the Editor Of the Press:
While the question of woman suffrage is
before the public, it seems not untimely to
call attention to the following extract from
letter by Prof. w. wv Goodwin, of Harvard
University, published last year in Boston:
1t seems to me incredible that any one
VINO appreciates the increasing gravity of
the, problem which municipal government
IN THIS country presents, can propose at this
time to extend municipal suffrage to all the
women OF the commonwealth.
Wnen the wisest minds are so sorely per-
picked by the horde of evils which ignor-
ance .andI responsibility have already
brought upon almost all our large cities.
when the power of the State has to be in
voked to save these cities from their own
governments, it is little less than wanton
recklessness to propose to more than double
the number of voters, with the certainty of
increasing largely the amount of irresponsi-
BILE ignorance In the electorate, and with no
hope OF even balancing this by any addition
OF political wisdom. The evil which is now
SO deeply felt, caused by the unwillingness
Of. many of our best and wisest citizens to
take part in politics. especially in city poll
tics, would be increased ten-fold if suffrage
were extended to women. Even if were
disposed to favor this scheme should be
strongly deferred by seeing that the great
majority eff the intelligent women of my ac-
quaintance whose votes would bring us an
accession Of political wisdom, would accept
political duties only on compulsion.
No one can believe that the same repug-
nance to politics would extend to the less in
foil 6 Al. %